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At least 73 records · Page 4

Enhancing SWAT with mechanistic plant hydraulics: development and application in the Hanjiang River Basin

Plant transpiration plays a critical role in global water and energy cycles, requiring better process understanding as climate change intensifies drought stress and alters plant responses. Most hydrological models such as the widely-used SWAT lack representation of plant hydraulics, the mechanistic processes controlling plant water regulation and transpiration. Here, this study developed SWAT-PHS by integrating a plant hydraulics scheme (PHS) into SWAT hydrological model, enabling explicit simulation of root water uptake, sap flow, storage and transpiration at 30-minute timescales for watershed-scale modeling. In the Hanjiang River Basin, SWAT-PHS mitigated overestimation of runoff during the rainy season and underestimation during the dry season, reducing the overall simulation error by 29% across the entire simulation period. The model can simulate reasonable plant water dynamics, including diurnal transpiration patterns and drought responses showing declining transpiration flux, hydraulic buffering through stem water storage, and depth-dependent root water uptake strategies. Sensitivity analysis shows that SWAT-PHS captured mechanistic relationships between plant hydraulic traits and transpiration, with root distribution and stem capacitance positively affecting annual transpiration while vulnerability parameters showed negative effects. This work provides a pathway for improving hydrologic modeling and water resource management by better representing plant water regulation under climate change and expected intensifying water stress conditions.

China

PROCRU: A model for analyzing crew procedures in approach to landing

A model for analyzing crew procedures in approach to landing is developed. The model employs the information processing structure used in the optimal control model and in recent models for monitoring and failure detection. Mechanisms are added to this basic structure to model crew decision making in this multi task environment. Decisions are based on probability assessments and potential mission impact (or gain). Sub models for procedural activities are included. The model distinguishes among external visual, instrument visual, and auditory sources of information. The external visual scene perception models incorporate limitations in obtaining information. The auditory information channel contains a buffer to allow for storage in memory until that information can be processed.

Baron, S.

Particle-sampling statistics in laser anemometers Sample-and-hold systems and saturable systems

The effect of the data-processing system on the particle statistics obtained with laser anemometry of flows containing suspended particles is examined. Attention is given to the sample and hold processor, a pseudo-analog device which retains the last measurement until a new measurement is made, followed by time-averaging of the data. The second system considered features a dead time, i.e., a saturable system with a significant reset time with storage in a data buffer. It is noted that the saturable system operates independent of the particle arrival rate. The probabilities of a particle arrival in a given time period are calculated for both processing systems. It is shown that the system outputs are dependent on the mean particle flow rate, the flow correlation time, and the flow statistics, indicating that the particle density affects both systems. The results are significant for instances of good correlation between the particle density and velocity, such as occurs near the edge of a jet.

Edwards, R. V.

Space Data Storage Systems and Technologies

A central aspect of most space missions is the acquisition from space of unique, mission-specific data and the subsequent return of these data to Earth.

data storage systems buffer data

Resource Adequacy and Capital Cost Considerations Pertaining to Large Electric Grids Powered by Wind, Solar, Storage, Gas, and Nuclear

The capacity and generation of wind, solar, storage, nuclear, and gas are estimated for large, idealized copper-plate electric grids. Wind and solar penetrations of 30% to 80% are considered together with different storage systems such as vanadium and lithium-ion batteries, pumped hydroelectric, compressed air, and hydrogen. In addition to a baseline dispatchable fleet without wind/solar, two bounding cases with wind/solar are analyzed: one without storage and one where the whole wind/solar fleet is connected to the storage system, hence providing a buffer between the wind/solar fleet and the grid. The reality will likely be somewhere between these bounding cases. The viability of a power grid with a large wind/solar penetration and no storage is not guaranteed but was nonetheless considered to provide a lower-bound capital cost estimate. Overall, the options that rely strongly on wind, solar, and storage could be significantly more capital-intensive than those that rely strongly on nuclear, depending on the amount of storage necessary to ensure grid stability. This is especially true in the long run because wind, solar, and storage assets have shorter lifetimes than nuclear plants and, consequently, need to be replaced more frequently. More analyses (e.g., grid stability and public acceptance) are necessary to determine which option is most likely to provide the path of least resistance to powering a clean, affordable, and reliable grid in a timely manner. Depending on the priorities, the path of least resistance may not necessarily be the one that is less capital intensive.

adequacy

Case Study: Seattle Waterfront Networked Microgrid Evaluation - Case Study for Port Electrification Handbook

Many ports and waterfronts are evaluating alternative electrification efforts, including electrification of passenger and vehicle ferries. In Seattle, the Washington State Department of Transportation, in conjunction with Seattle City Light (the local utility) and the Port of Seattle, are working to deploy a hybrid electric ferry and provide charging at Seattle’s Colman dock. As part of this ferry electrification effort, Seattle City Light is considering including a large battery energy storage system (BESS) to help “buffer” the ferry charging. The “buffer” provides energy arbitrage and spreads out the large amount of power needed to recharge the ferry to times when the ferry is out of the dock – rather than one very large peak for 15 minutes, the battery storage allows it to be a smaller power value over a longer duration. This initial BESS concept served as the jumping off point to explore an expanded microgrid concept via a notional test system that incorporates additional distributed energy resources (DER) and infrastructure upgrades to the local distribution infrastructure at the Seattle Waterfront and neighboring Port of Seattle properties. This case study examined the potential for secondary use of the BESS within a networked microgrid during the scenario of a large-scale power outage, such as a natural disaster.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION

Quantifying the Potential Atmospheric Leakage Risks Associated With the Geologic Storage of CO 2 in Saline Aquifers for Use in Voluntary Carbon Market Buffer Account Determination

Conference paper presented at 17th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT-17), Calgary, Alberta, Canada, October 20–24, 2024. This paper presents the results of a detailed study into the potential atmospheric leakage risks associated with the geologic storage of CO 2 in saline aquifers. This study included a detailed literature review, a re-creation of existing CO 2 leakage models put forth by other authors and, lastly, the development of an enhanced model that can be utilized for assessing the potential losses to the atmosphere of stored CO 2 across a variety of potential project parameters. The results of this study indicate that, across broad ranges of input parameters for mechanisms that have the potential for CO 2 loss from the storage complex to the atmosphere, there is an extremely low risk of CO 2 leakage to the atmosphere, with the median leakage risk estimated to be 0.1% of total injected CO 2 . The risk of leakage from real-world storage projects is likely to be even lower than those estimated through this study.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT

Expression of the high capacity calcium-binding domain of calreticulin increases bioavailable calcium stores in plants

Modulation of cytosolic calcium levels in both plants and animals is achieved by a system of Ca2+-transport and storage pathways that include Ca2+ buffering proteins in the lumen of intracellular compartments. To date, most research has focused on the role of transporters in regulating cytosolic calcium. We used a reverse genetics approach to modulate calcium stores in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. Our goals were two-fold: to use the low affinity, high capacity Ca2+ binding characteristics of the C-domain of calreticulin to selectively increase Ca2+ storage in the endoplasmic reticulum, and to determine if those alterations affected plant physiological responses to stress. The C-domain of calreticulin is a highly acidic region that binds 20-50 moles of Ca2+ per mole of protein and has been shown to be the major site of Ca2+ storage within the endoplasmic reticulum of plant cells. A 377-bp fragment encoding the C-domain and ER retention signal from the maize calreticulin gene was fused to a gene for the green fluorescent protein and expressed in Arabidopsis under the control of a heat shock promoter. Following induction on normal medium, the C-domain transformants showed delayed loss of chlorophyll after transfer to calcium depleted medium when compared to seedlings transformed with green fluorescent protein alone. Total calcium measurements showed a 9-35% increase for induced C-domain transformants compared to controls. The data suggest that ectopic expression of the calreticulin C-domain increases Ca2+ stores, and that this Ca2+ reserve can be used by the plant in times of stress.

NASA Discipline Plant Biology

Solar-B X-ray Telescope (XRT) Concept Study Report

The X-ray observations from the Yohkoh SXT provided the greatest step forward in our understanding of the solar corona in nearly two decades. Expanding on the accomplishments of Yohkoh, we believe that the scientific objectives of the Solar-B mission are achieved with a significantly improved X-ray telescope (XRT) similar to the SXT. The Solar-B XRT will have twice the spatial resolution and a broader temperature response, while building on the knowledge gained from the successful Yohkoh mission. We present the scientific justification for this view, discuss the instrumental requirements that flow from the scientific objectives, and describe the instrumentation to meet these requirements. We then provide a detailed discussion of the design activities carried out during Phase A, noting the conclusions that were reached in terms of their implications for the detailed design activities which are now commencing. Details of the instrument that have changed as a result of the Phase A studied are specifically noted, and areas of concern going into Phase B are highlighted. XRT is a grazing-incidence (GI) modified Wolter I X-ray telescope, of 35cm inner diameter and 2.7m focal length. The 2048x2048 back-illuminated CCD (now an ISAS responsibility) has 13.5 micron pixels, corresponding to 1.0 arcsec and giving full Sun field of view. This will be the highest resolution GI X-ray telescope ever flown for Solar coronal studies, and it has been designed specifically to observe both the high and low temperature coronal plasma. A small optical telescope provides visible light images for co-alignment with the Solar-B optical and EUV instruments. The XRT science team is working in close cooperation with our Japanese colleagues in the design and construction of this instrument. All of the expertise and resources of the High Energy and Solar/Stellar Divisions of the Center for Astrophysics are being made available to this program, and our team will carry its full share of responsibility for mission operations, data reduction and education and public outreach. All aspects of the XRT design were reviewed during Phase A. The study focussed particularly on those aspects that have the greatest affect on instrument performance and extended lifetime, on the image quality error budget, and on the camera (mechanical and electrical) interface and the instrument mounting interfaces. The present instrument design differs in some details from that originally proposed. Selection of the XRT for Phase A study was contingent upon the removal of the camera and its associated electronics, and the acceptance of a stringent cost cap. The removal of the electronics left the XRT without control electronics for the instrument mechanisms. A mechanism controller was therefore added. The removal of the camera resulted in major complications to the integration and test plan. After many discussions, it was decided that the system would be less expensive, and the risk of unacceptable performance lower, if we include a focus mechanism. The remainder of the XRT design baseline matches the proposed configuration. Data requirements for the XRT are driven by the science plans, which are based on the physical processes in the solar outer atmosphere. Discussions to date of the XRT observing plan, both alone and in conjunction with the other Solar-B instruments, shows that the XRT needs 2 Gbits of on-board storage, at least one circulating buffer of 640 Mbits, and twelve 10- minute downlinks per day in order to carry out its required programs.

Golub, Leon

MSL-RAD Cruise Operations Concept

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) payload includes the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) instrument, intended to fully characterize the radiation environment for the MSL mission. The RAD instrument operations concept is intended to reduce impact to spacecraft resources and effort for the MSL operations team. By design, RAD autonomously performs regular science observations without the need for frequent commanding from the Rover Compute Element (RCE). RAD operates with pre-defined "sleep" and "observe" periods, with an adjustable duty cycle for meeting power and data volume constraints during the mission. At the start of a new science observation, RAD performs a pre-observation activity to assess count rates for selected RAD detector elements. Based on this assessment, RAD can enter "solar event" mode, in which instrument parameters (including observation duration) are selected to more effectively characterize the environment. At the end of each observation period, RAD stores a time-tagged, fixed length science data packet in its non-volatile mass memory storage. The operating cadence is defined by adjustable parameters, also stored in non-volatile memory within the instrument. Periodically, the RCE executes an on-board sequence to transfer RAD science data packets from the instrument mass storage to the MSL downlink buffer. Infrequently, the RAD instrument operating configuration is modified by updating internal parameter tables and configuration entries.

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Design of Space Station era mass storage systems

The architecture, components, and technical approach for a Space Station era mass storage system prototype are described. The primary data storage needs call for such functions as line outage recording, rate buffering, data archiving, and level zero type processing. The prototype mass storage system hardware will be configurable to support three modes of operation at up to 300 Mbps. The system architecture consists of two distinct components: a configurable high-level mass storage control system and a basic storage kernal.

Horner, Ward P.

Integrated geological, economic, and risk assessment of underground hydrogen storage

Underground hydrogen storage (UHS) is a promising option to buffer variable renewable power and support the hydrogen economy. Yet this technology is early-stage, and key uncertainties remain about how coupled processes such as geochemical and geomechanical impacts affect long-term storage security. In this paper, we seek to integrate the results from a large, multi-scale research program to quantify core feasibility metrics and situate these studies within ongoing efforts. Through this work, we evaluate hydrogen recoverability during storage by assessing diffusive losses, losses to geochemical interactions and their subsequent impact on geomechanical properties, and losses to residual saturation during injection and withdrawal. Molecular and laboratory studies show that lithologic heterogeneity, pore geometry, and mineral surface chemistry govern hydrogen–rock interactions, controlling loss pathways. High-pressure coreflooding is used to estimate relative permeabilities and measure parameters needed for reservoir-scale sensitivity analyses. These core-scale experiments found early hydrogen breakthrough at low saturations driven by capillary and viscous fingering, which limits pore-space utilization at early times, while repeated injection and withdrawal cycles improve deliverability over time. Technoeconomic factors and purity requirements for end uses are also considered as part of our comprehensive feasibility analysis. Finally, we underscore the importance of geophysical monitoring and tailored injection strategies to maintain integrity and efficiency. Together, these results provide a quantitative foundation for safe, scalable deployment of UHS and highlight priorities for future integrated studies.

08 HYDROGEN

The Role of Bedrock Circulation Depth and Porosity in Mountain Streamflow Response to Prolonged Drought

Quantitative understanding is lacking on how the depth of active groundwater circulation in bedrock affects mountain streamflow response to a multi-year drought. We use an integrated hydrological model to explore the sensitivity of a variety of streamflow metrics to bedrock circulation depth and porosity under a plausible extreme drought scenario lasting up to 5 years. Endmember depth versus hydraulic conductivity relationships and porosity values for fractured crystalline rock are simulated. With drought, a deeper circulation system with higher drainable porosity more effectively buffers minimum flow and significantly limits perennial stream loss in comparison to a shallow circulation system. Streamflow buffering is accomplished through extensive groundwater storage loss. However, deeper circulation systems experience prolonged recovery from drought in comparison to storage-limited shallow systems. Research highlights the importance of characterizing the deeper bedrock hydrogeology in mountainous watersheds to better understand and predict drought impacts on stream ecosystem health and water resource sustainability.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Automated attendance accounting system

An automated accounting system useful for applying data to a computer from any or all of a multiplicity of data terminals is disclosed. The system essentially includes a preselected number of data terminals which are each adapted to convert data words of decimal form to another form, i.e., binary, usable with the computer. Each data terminal may take the form of a keyboard unit having a number of depressable buttons or switches corresponding to selected data digits and/or function digits. A bank of data buffers, one of which is associated with each data terminal, is provided as a temporary storage. Data from the terminals is applied to the data buffers on a digit by digit basis for transfer via a multiplexer to the computer.

Chapman, C. P.

HTMT-class Latency Tolerant Parallel Architecture for Petaflops Scale Computation

Computational Aero Sciences and other numeric intensive computation disciplines demand computing throughputs substantially greater than the Teraflops scale systems only now becoming available. The related fields of fluids, structures, thermal, combustion, and dynamic controls are among the interdisciplinary areas that in combination with sufficient resolution and advanced adaptive techniques may force performance requirements towards Petaflops. This will be especially true for compute intensive models such as Navier-Stokes are or when such system models are only part of a larger design optimization computation involving many design points. Yet recent experience with conventional MPP configurations comprising commodity processing and memory components has shown that larger scale frequently results in higher programming difficulty and lower system efficiency. While important advances in system software and algorithms techniques have had some impact on efficiency and programmability for certain classes of problems, in general it is unlikely that software alone will resolve the challenges to higher scalability. As in the past, future generations of high-end computers may require a combination of hardware architecture and system software advances to enable efficient operation at a Petaflops level. The NASA led HTMT project has engaged the talents of a broad interdisciplinary team to develop a new strategy in high-end system architecture to deliver petaflops scale computing in the 2004/5 timeframe. The Hybrid-Technology, MultiThreaded parallel computer architecture incorporates several advanced technologies in combination with an innovative dynamic adaptive scheduling mechanism to provide unprecedented performance and efficiency within practical constraints of cost, complexity, and power consumption. The emerging superconductor Rapid Single Flux Quantum electronics can operate at 100 GHz (the record is 770 GHz) and one percent of the power required by convention semiconductor logic. Wave Division Multiplexing optical communications can approach a peak per fiber bandwidth of 1 Tbps and the new Data Vortex network topology employing this technology can connect tens of thousands of ports providing a bi-section bandwidth on the order of a Petabyte per second with latencies well below 100 nanoseconds, even under heavy loads. Processor-in-Memory (PIM) technology combines logic and memory on the same chip exposing the internal bandwidth of the memory row buffers at low latency. And holographic storage photorefractive storage technologies provide high-density memory with access a thousand times faster than conventional disk technologies. Together these technologies enable a new class of shared memory system architecture with a peak performance in the range of a Petaflops but size and power requirements comparable to today's largest Teraflops scale systems. To achieve high-sustained performance, HTMT combines an advanced multithreading processor architecture with a memory-driven coarse-grained latency management strategy called "percolation", yielding high efficiency while reducing the much of the parallel programming burden. This paper will present the basic system architecture characteristics made possible through this series of advanced technologies and then give a detailed description of the new percolation approach to runtime latency management.

Sterling, Thomas

SODR Memory Control Buffer Control ASIC

The Spacecraft Optical Disk Recorder (SODR) is a state of the art mass storage system for future NASA missions requiring high transmission rates and a large capacity storage system. This report covers the design and development of an SODR memory buffer control applications specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The memory buffer control ASIC has two primary functions: (1) buffering data to prevent loss of data during disk access times, (2) converting data formats from a high performance parallel interface format to a small computer systems interface format. Ten 144 p in, 50 MHz CMOS ASIC's were designed, fabricated and tested to implement the memory buffer control function.

Hodson, Robert F.

RH1020 Single Event Clock Upset Summary Report

This report summarizes the testing and analysis of "single event clock upset' in the RH1020. Also included are SEU-rate predictions and design recommendations for risk analysis and reduction. The subject of "upsets" in the RH1020 is best understood by using a model consisting of a global clock buffer and a D-type flip-flop as the basic memory unit. The RH1020 is built on the ACT 1 family architecture. As such, it has one low-skew global clock buffer with a TTL-level input threshold that is accessed via a single dedicated pin. The clock signal is driven to full CMOS levels, buffered, and sent to individual row buffers with one buffer per channel. For low-skew performance, the outputs of all of the RH1020 row buffers are shorted together via metal lines, as is done in the A1020B. All storage in the RH1020 consists of routed flip-flops, constructed with multiplexors and feedback through the routing segments. A simple latch can be constructed from a single (combinatorial or C) module; an edge-triggered flip-flop is constructed using two concatenated latches. There is no storage in the I/O modules. The front end of the clock buffering circuitry, at a common point relative to the row buffer, is a sub-circuit that was determined to be the most susceptible to heavy ions. This is due, in part, to its smaller transistors compared to the rest of the circuitry. This conclusion is also supported by SPICE simulations and an analysis of the heavy ion data, described in this report. The edge triggered D flip-flop has two single-event-upset modes. Mode one, called C-module upset, is caused by a heavy ion striking the C-module's sensitive area on the silicon and produces a soft single bit error at the output of the flip-flop. Mode two, called clock upset, is caused by a heavy ion strike on the clock buffer, generating a runt pulse interpreted as a false clock signal and consequently producing errors at the flip-flop outputs. C-module upset sensitivity in the RH1020 is essentially the same as that of its ACT 1 siblings (A1020, A1020A and A1020B), which were well tested, analyzed, and documented in the literature.

Katz, Richard B.